Massachusetts  Agricultural  College 

M.  A.  C.  fiandbooK  No.  2.  June,  1917 


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AGRICULTURE 


AND  THE 


WORLD  WAR  AND  AFTER 


PUBLISHED  BY  THE  COLLEGE 
Amherst,  Mass. 


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Importance  of  Agriculture  : 

The  significance  of  agriculture  as  a national 
asset  has  never  been  recognized  as  it  is  today 
by  the  people,  young  and  old,  of  our  country. 

President  Wilson,  in  his  masterful  war  mes- 
sage, stated  an  important  fact,  and  directed 
the  attention  of  the  people  to  the  need  of 
greater  agricultural  production  and  conserva- 
tion, when  he  said:  “Upon  the  farmers  of 
this  country,  therefore,  in  a large  measure, 
rests  the  fate  of  the  war  and  the  fate  of  the 
nations.”  A great  responsibility;  a big  task; 
an  attractive  opportunity! 

A Challenge  to  the  Youth  : 

Here,  then,  is  a new  challenge  to  the  youth 
of  our  land,  to  the  boys  and  young  men,  to  the 
girls  and  young  women,  to  prepare  themselves 
for  effective  agricultural  service.  The  need 
for  this  service  is  not  temporary,  because  for 
years  after  peace  shall  have  been  established, 
the  urban  population  of  Europe  and  the  United 
States  will  rely  on  the  food  which  must  be 
produced  in  America.  This,  year,  millions  of 
dollars  are  being  spent  through  public  and 
private  agencies  in  the  stimulation  and  super- 
vision of  agricultural  production,  conservation 
and  distribution. 

Agricultural  Education  : 

With  the  public  thought  and  enthusiasm  so 
universally  turned  toward  agricultural  prob- 
lems, there  comes  an  unprecedented  apprecia- 
tion of  the  necessity  of  a professional  agricul- 
tural education  for  men  and  women  assuming 


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positions  of  responsibility  and  of  leadership  in 
connection  with  these  problems.  The  agri- 
cultural colleges  of  the  country,  about  fifty  in 
number,  are  already  organized  and  equipped 
for  supplying  the  scientific  training  thus  re- 
quired. Indeed,  for  half  a century  these  col- 
leges have  been  training  men  in  this  field,  so 
that  today  practically  all  the  leaders  in  the 
agricultural  movement  are  graduates  of  agri- 
cultural colleges. 

The  Massachusetts  Agricultural  College  : 

The  agricultural  college  of  Massachusetts, 
now  with  a history  of  fifty  years  of  service,  is 
training  men  and  women  to  assist  in  the  solu- 
tion of  the  problems  of  food  production,  con- 
servation and  distribution,  which  confront 
the  world  The  institution  invites  to  its  mem- 
bership such  young  men  and  women  as  have 
the  ability,  desire  and  determination  to  be- 
come effective  workers  in  the  various  practical 
agricultural  vocations,  or  to  become  leaders  in 
in  the  broader  field  of  agricultural  service. 

Courses  for  Regular  Students  : 

The  regular  college  course  covers  a period 
of  four  years,  and  leads  to  the  degree  of  Bach- 
elor of  Science.  This  is  the  program  to  be 
recommended  to  all  who  can  avail  themselves 
of  the  opportunities  thus  offered.  In  fact, 
four  years  of  preparation  are  essential  for  one 
ambitious  to  make  the  best  advancement  in 
agriculture,  and  especially  for  one  seeking  a 
position  of  high  responsibility.  Students  en- 


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rolled  in  this  course  may  specialize  in  one  of 
the  following  subjects,  each  of  which  leads  to 
a definite  vocation. 

Agriculture  (General) 

Agronomy 
Animal  Husbandry 
Dairying 

Poultry  Husbandry 

Floriculture 

Forestry 

Landscape  Gardening 
Pomology 
Economic  Botany 
Economic  Entomology 
Agricultural  Chemistry 
Microbiology 
Rural  Journalism 
Agricultural  Economics 
Agricultural  Education 
Rural  Sociology 

Courses  for  Special  Students  2 

In  order  to  meet  the  demands  for  instruc- 
tion which  will  aid  young  men  and  women  in 
becoming  expert  in  the  practical  phases  of 
agriculture,  the  Massachusetts  Agricultural 
College  will  admit  high  school  graduates 
eighteen  years  of  age  or  over  without 
examination,  and  permit  them,  under 
certain  conditions,  to  pursue  studies  in  techni- 
cal agriculture  and  horticulture.  Some  have 
not  the  necessary  academic  credits  to  enter  the 
four  years’  course,  nor  have  they  the  inclina- 
tion or  the  time  and  money  required.  To 


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these,  the  opportunity  to  come  for  one  or  two 
years  and  specialize  in  practical  agriculture 
and  horticulture  will  be  appreciated.  The 
following  are  suggestive  combinations  of 
studies  which  special  students  may  elect: 

1.  General  Agriculture  : 

Fertilizers 
Field  Crops 

Live  Stock  Breeding,  Management  and 
Judging 
Dairying 
Fruit  Growing 
Farm  Accounting 
Farm  Management 
Farm  Machinery 

2.  Animal  Husbandry  and  Dairying  : 

Type  and  Breeds  of  Live  Stock 

Principles  of  Breeding 

Feeding  and  Management 

Buttermaking 

Farm  Accounting 

Dairy  or  Farm  Machinery 

lave  Stock  Management 

Live  Stock  Judging 

Milk  and  its  Composition 

Market  Milk 

Farm  Management 

3.  Poultry  Husbandry : 

Elementary  Poultry  Culture 
Incubation  and  Brooding 
Pen  Management 

Poultry  Feeding  and  Management 


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Judging 

Poultry  Products 
Farm  Accounting 

Poultry  Practice  Work,  Carpentry,  Ca- 
ponizing,  Killing,  Picking. 

Poultry  Breeding 
Market  Poultry 
Field  Crops 
Fruit  Work 

4.  Fruit  Growing  : 

Varieties  of  Fruits 

Cropping  Orchards 

Spraying  Small  Fruits 

Packing 

Plant  Diseases 

Horticultural  Manufactures 

Soils  and  Fertilizers 

Farm  Accounting 

Establishing  the  Orchard 

Pruning 

Picking 

Marketing 

Fruit  Insects 

Field  Crops 

Farm  Management 

Farm  Machinery 

5.  Market  Gardening  : 

Soils  and  Fertilizers 

Irrigation 

Spraying 

Greenhouse  Vegetable  Growing 
Farm  Accounting 


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Varieties  of  Vegetables 
Crop  Rotation 
Storage 

Farm  Management 
Farm  Machinery 

What  the  Students  of  the  College  are 
Now  Doing: 

In  response  to  the  call  for  men  to  supervise 
production  projects,  developed  by  schools, 
municipalities  and  manufacturing  concerns, 
and  later  to  meet  the  urgent  demand  for  farm 
labor,  practically  the  entire  undergraduate 
student  body,  nearly  six  hundred  in  number, 
left  the  institution  the  latter  part  of  April  and 
early  in  May  to  meet  the  specific  calls  made 
for  them.  A large  number  of  the  older  men 
entered  some  form  of  military  or  naval  ser- 
vice. 

Expenses  and  General  Information  : 

Tuition  is  free  to  regular  and  special  stu- 
dents who  are  residents  of  Massachusetts.  The 
necessary  expenses  for  board  and  room,  books 
and  incidentals  vary  from  $250  to  $350  per 
year.  The  next  college  year  will  open  Octo- 
ber 10,  1917,  and  will  consist  of  three  terms 
of  nine  weeks  each;  the  usual  length  of  each 
term  is  twelve  weeks. 

Enrollment  in  1916  and  1917,  including  grad- 
uate students,  was  nearly  seven  hundred. 

Military  drill  is  required,  and  has  been  un- 
der the  direction  of  an  officer  of  the  United 
States  army. 


Entrance  examinations  in  the  autumn  of 
1917  will  be  held  October  4 to  6 at  Amherst 
only. 

The  College  also  offers  graduate  courses  in 
agriculture  and  allied  sciences,  a ten  weeks’ 
winter  courses  and  a four  weeks’  summer 
school. 

A complete  catalog  of  the  college,  contain- 
ing a description  of  courses,  will  be  sent  upon 
application.  A separate  announcement  for 
the  admission  of  special  students  will  be  ready 
in  August  or  September. 

RALPH  J.  WATTS , Secretary , 

Amherst,  Mass. 


